Double Status
by Neonz
Summary: When Ash and Serena are hit by a double dose of hypnosis, they fall into a deep sleep plagued by vivid dreams and terrifying nightmares. When the key to awakening turns out to be their emotions, it's up to them to recognize their deeper feelings lest they be trapped in their own minds forever. / AmourShipping *updates Thursdays!*
1. Chapter 1

Serena stared up toward the top of Bonnie's tent, but the purple canvas that composed the ceiling was only faintly visible. The rain was falling as steadily as it had been all night, and the wind shook the tent walls enough to prevent Serena from drifting off again. It had gotten only slightly lighter outside since Serena had woken up, but she wasn't sure if the lack of morning sun was due to the dark clouds that were surely present or if it was still too early for it to have properly risen.

She shifted her gaze over to Bonnie, and was unsurprised to see that the younger girl was still peacefully asleep. Once Bonnie was coaxed into bed, she was thankfully very good at staying there until a reasonable hour. Serena, on the other hand…

Her focus went back to the ceiling. It wouldn't be too long until morning, though the prospect of travelling in such dreary weather was daunting. They had already had their first taste of the Route 14 swamps the day prior, and Serena was not looking forward to tackling them again. She had already made the decision to wear the same boots, lest another pair become as caked with mud as the first.

"Come on, Pikachu." Ash's voice drifted through the thin walls in a quieter-than-usual tone. Intrigued, Serena flipped herself over. She couldn't remember the last time Ash was awake before she was. It was an occasion usually reserved for gym battles, but they were way too far off from Laverre City to even consider making it there today.

"_Pika!"_

"_Shh! _We don't want to wake the others, okay buddy?"

"_Pika…" _Pikachu repeated in a much softer voice.

The footsteps gradually became quieter. Serena sat up and, after stealing a glance at the still-sleeping Bonnie, grabbed her pink rain jacket and threw it on over her pajamas. She smiled and ran over scenarios in her head as she pulled on her boots.

"_Oh, hi Ash! Funny that you're up so early, too!"_

"_Hi Serena! I'm so glad you came… it's sort of nice out here without Clemont and Bonnie, you know? Just the two of us?"_

"_I know exactly what you mean! In fact, I…"_

Serena rolled her eyes and blushed. Her mind made things seem so easy sometimes. Serena was genuinely curious as to what Ash was up to, and she knew that sleep would be impossible until she found out.

She grabbed Fennekin's pokeball for protection just in case, and unzipped the tent slowly as not to disturb the youngest member of their group. Bonnie was a sound sleeper, and Serena was able to escape without any trouble.

The rain, though not heavy, was still annoying enough for Serena to wince and bow her head. It only served to fuel more questions on what Ash was doing up at this hour.

After a couple of minutes of walking, Serena heard her answer:

"A haunter _and _a poliwhirl? Alright!" Ash's voice echoed loud and clear through the rain. "It's just you, Pikachu! I left the others back at the tent, sorry."

"_Pika!" _

Serena hastily followed the voices, and ducked through some of the heavy foliage to find Ash and Pikachu facing off against both a large-eyed floating ghost-type and a blue water-type with a large spiral on its belly.

"_Poli!"_

The poliwhirl shot out a jet of water toward Pikachu, who braced himself for the impact –

"Pikachu! Jump and use iron tail!"

"_Pikachu!" _The electric-type jumped out of the way just in time, but as his tail started to glow to prepare the ordered attack, Serena noticed that the haunter had disappeared from its spot beside Poliwhirl and was materializing behind Pikachu. It held up its floating hands and began to produce a shadow ball.

Serena ran forward and tossed Fennekin's pokeball into the air. "Fennekin! Use ember on that haunter!"

"_Feeeeeeenn!" _The orange fox burst out of her ball and launched a ball of fire toward Haunter just before Pikachu landed the iron tail on Poliwhirl.

Pikachu and Fennekin landed safely next to each other as their opponents were launched across the field. _"Pika!" _Pikachu smiled widely at Fennekin, then turned and waved at Serena with both of his tiny arms. _"Pika pikachu!"_

"Serena!" Ash exclaimed, and looked at the girl in surprise. "I dunno where you came from, but thanks!" He grinned. "I didn't even see that haunter there. It's hard to focus when it's two against one, you know?"

Serena smiled back. "No problem… I heard you leaving, and I was worried because of the rain." She blushed, thankful that the light was still dim, and turned back to the battlefield. "Um, so what _are _you doing out here in the rain?"

"The rain lures out water types," Ash explained, keeping his focus on Pikachu. "See the poliwhirl? That's why I brought Pikachu out here. I didn't want to risk the weather changing later in the day, so…"

Serena quirked a brow and looked up at the sky. "It looks like it'll be rainy for a while." She winced as a raindrop splashed into her eye, and grasped the top of her jacket closer to her face. "A-are you sure you don't want to head ba – "

"Pikachu, dive to the left!"

Serena hastily looked around in time to see the poliwhirl fire a bubblebeam toward Fennekin, who cried out as she was thrown backward.

"Fennekin!" Serena called, her hand flying to her mouth in horror. "I'm sorry! Can you get up?"

"_F-Fen! Fennekin!" _The fire-type stood and shook out her fur, then gave Serena a brief nod.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt on the poliwhirl!"

"_Pikaaa-chuuu!" _A stream of bright yellow energy soared across the battlefield and struck Poliwhirl straight-on. As the attack faded away, the tadpole pokemon briefly shook itself off, then glanced to where the haunter appeared on its left. Fennekin in turn bounded over to Pikachu. Haunter glanced over at its partner and nodded. Both wild pokemon held up their hands, and a plethora of multicoloured rings began soaring toward the opposite end of the battlefield.

"W-what's that?!" Serena exclaimed.

"Hypnosis!" Ash yelled. "Pikachu, quick, dive left!"

"Fennekin, dive right!"

As both pokemon leapt out of the way of harm, the multicoloured rings from the haunter began to combine with the rings from the poliwhirl. The attack began to glow brightly with power, and it soared right between its two original targets and sped onward to the two trainers.

Serena panicked and looked to Ash only to find his expression to be one of terror. _"Serena!" _She could see him diving toward her, but his image quickly faded into the white light of the attack –

…

Serena's eyes shot open, but she groaned and immediately shut them as the light from the sun assaulted her senses. She could feel the warmth on her face, and startled herself by realizing it wasn't raining. She slowly tried opening her eyes again.

"Where… where am I?" Serena muttered and stood up. In front of her stretched a long grassy field. The grass was perfectly green, and the bright blue sky was punctuated with only a few fluffy clouds and the abnormally large sun, which Serena again shied away from.

"Ash?" She circled around, but all she could see for miles was bright-green grass. "Ash, where are you? Fennekin?"

Unnerved by the lack of response, she bit her lip and stood in place. "Hello? Helllloooo?" Frightened tears started to well in her eyes. _"Please, can anybody hear me?!"_

…

"_PIKA-CHUUUUUUU!"_

The haunter and poliwhirl finally scattered as Pikachu sent a wall of energy rocketing toward them. The little pokemon panted, then turned to Fennekin, who was still staring in shock at Ash and Serena. Their two trainers had both collapsed to the damp ground and lay eerily still.

"_Chuuu…" _Pikachu worriedly sighed and jumped over to Ash. He had fallen onto his stomach with one arm outstretched toward Serena, who was lying on her back just a few inches too far for him to reach. Pikachu prodded his head to make sure he was still getting oxygen, then fired off a few sparks from his cheeks. The weak charge surged through Ash. Prior experience told the pokemon that this should be more than enough to wake his trainer, however Ash remained as still as ever.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked again for attempt two, but a paw on his shoulder stopped him.

"_Fen! Fennekin, Fen!" _Fennekin pointed in the direction back to camp. _"Fen!"_

Pikachu hesitated, then flattened his ears and stared at Ash. _"Pikapi…"_

"_Fennekin!"_

Pikachu glanced at Serena's pokemon, then nodded and started to run as quickly as he could back to camp. The sky seemed to be getting darker instead of lighter, and it was all Pikachu could do to ignore the howling wind and focus on getting help.

…

Serena had started walking, though she didn't feel like she was moving anywhere. The bright green grass and glaring sun were unchanging, and she was still the only one in sight…

She sighed and kept going. "Maybe Ash or Fennekin will come looking for me…"

"_Pika! Pikachu!"_

Serena whirled around and beamed in relief as the yellow mouse pokemon bounded over to her and tipped his head, a small smile formed on his mouth. "Pikachu!" She exclaimed, sinking down to the ground to rub his head. "Where's Ash?" She looked up, but couldn't see him anywhere. "…Are you all by yourself? Where are we?"

"_Pika?" _Pikachu smiled blankly and blinked a few times, then stood and started to walk forward.

Serena stood and hesitated. "Pikachu? Where are you going…?"

Pikachu turned and gave Serena the same smile and blank stare. She was getting the impression that he was looking through her rather than at her, and it sent a shiver through her spine. "P-Pikachu?"

Pikachu stood there for a few moments longer, blinked, then kept walking. Seeing no other viable options, Serena started to follow.

…

"Pikachu! S-slow down!" Clemont panted as Pikachu paused for a few seconds, then turned and started to run again.

"Clemont, come on!" Bonnie cried, nearly caught up with Pikachu herself. Dedenne was clinging onto the head of the tyrantum pajamas that she was still wearing, and her little companion ducked his head to shield himself from the rain. "Something's wrong, I just know it! Something's happened to Serena and Ash! Why else wouldn't they be there when we woke up?"

"I… I don't know, Bonnie…" Clemont knew that something must be horribly wrong, but didn't want to frighten his little sister. Ash getting up early for training happened on occasion, but Serena being willingly out in such awful weather was uncharacteristic to say the least. Pikachu waking him up via thunderbolt and then calling out frantically until he got up and followed, though?

Clemont could only assume the worst, so when they finally reached where Serena and Ash lay lifeless on the ground, his heart plummeted in terror. Fennekin had taken shelter under Serena's fallen hat, and trembled as she sadly peered out at them with flat ears and soaking wet fur. "B-Bonnie, stay right there and don't move."

"But - "

"I said _stay there_, okay?!" He grit his teeth and walked to Pikachu, who was sitting beside Ash with a worried frown.

"_Pikapi…"_

Clemont took a hold of Ash's wrist, which was conveniently extended, and felt a rush of relief as Ash's pulse pushed back steadily against his fingers. He quickly did the same with Serena, with similar results.

"Clemont?" Bonnie asked. Her eyes were huge and teary, and her mouth was screwed up in an obvious attempt to keep from crying. "A-are… are they…"

"No, no, Bonnie… Bonnie, they're okay." Clemont quickly got up and hugged the little girl, who clung to him and snivelled into his shoulder. "I'm sorry I yelled before. I was scared, too."

"But if they're okay, why are they on the ground like that?"

Clemont looked back to find Pikachu and Fennekin also staring at him for answers. "I… don't know." He walked back over to Ash, and gently probed around his head. "There doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with them, besides being soaking wet and unconscious… for both of them to be unresponsive like this, there has to be a similar reason."

"_Pika!" _Pikachu waved his little arms until he caught Clemont's attention, then widened his eyes and formed them into two angry triangular shapes with tiny pupils. He widened his mouth for added effect, his tiny teeth providing makeshift fangs. He held up his arms. _"Piiiikaaaa," _he droned in a low, eerie tone.

"That's so cool, Pikachu! How did you do that?" Bonnie exclaimed, smiling despite the situation. "He looks just like a haunter, Clemont!"

"_Pika! Pika!" _Pikachu dropped his impression and pointed excitedly at Bonnie. _"Pikachu!"_

Clemont adjusted his glasses. "You're saying a haunter had something to do with this? …I'm not quite sure how it could make two trainers lose consciousness like that. What would be its motivation be, anyways?"

Fennekin stuck out her head from underneath Serena's hat. _"Fen! Fen! F-F-Fe – " _She broke off with a sneeze that caused a weak flame to briefly shoot out of her mouth. She whimpered and sheepishly retreated back into the hat.

Bonnie crouched down next to the little fox. "Aww, you poor thing…" She shifted her gaze toward Serena, who was completely oblivious to the raindrops bouncing off of her face.

"We need to get them out of the rain as soon as possible," Clemont said, then crouched down next to Bonnie and gingerly started to prop Serena into a sitting position. She was absolutely limp in his arms. "They'll get sick before too long."

"I'll take Fennekin!" Bonnie scooped up Serena's pokemon with a wide smile. Fennekin shivered and huddled close to Bonnie's chest. "You can take Serena and Ash back, Clemont. Hey Dedenne, are you still doing okay up there?"

"_Den, de-den!" _The little rodent happily chirped from atop Bonnie's hood.

"Uh…" Clemont looked between Ash and Serena, unsure on how to go about carrying even one of them back. Dragging them across the muddy swamp hardly seemed like an appropriate thing to do, but he wasn't sure if he had a choice. He made a mental note to prepare a more suitable invention than the aipom arm in case a similar situation ever arose in the future. "I'll take Serena first, I guess. Pikachu, stay here with Ash."

Pikachu nodded and quietly turned to stare at his trainer. _"Pikapi…" _His ears drooped.

Clemont pulled off his glasses – which were becoming too difficult to see out of with all of the water on them – and tried to dry them on his sleeve without much success. He put them back on, blinked a few times, then squinted down at the girl in front of him. He tapped a button on the side of his backpack, and the aipom arm sprung to life. Clemont cautiously guided it toward Serena, latched it onto the back of her jacket, and grunted as he heaved her backward. Her head lolled to the left, and he hastily shifted his arms to support it.

"_Clemont!"_

Clemont sighed and looked at his little sister, who was standing with her arms crossed and little face scowling in disapproval. He paused, awkwardly hunched next to Serena's unconscious body. "…Y-yes, Bonnie?"

"That is _not _how you carry a girl! You can't just _drag_ her all the way back to the tents!"

"…and I suppose you have a better solution?"

Bonnie set Fennekin down next to Pikachu, then walked over with her hands on her hips. "Of course I do!" She wormed her way in between Clemont and Serena, swatted the aipom arm away, and took over supporting the older girl's back. "Just carry her like you carry me!"

Clemont raised an eyebrow and retracted the aipom arm. "Er, this _is _how I usually carry you - "

"No, no, no!" Bonnie sighed dramatically. "I just got through telling you not to drag her! Go stand in front of her. I'll help you."

Clemont followed directions, but eyed Bonnie skeptically. "I really don't see what - "

"Now crouch down!"

Clemont complied, and jumped in surprise as Serena's arms were thrown over his shoulders. "Uh - "

"She can't hold on like me, so you'll have to hold her wrists so she doesn't fall."

"Bonnie, I haven't piggybacked you in _years._"

"Ash is heavier you know. Better get used to it."

Clemont sighed and made sure that Serena was securely on his back before standing. He had to bend slightly so that she wouldn't slide off, and he could already feel his arms getting tired from holding her weight. As he took the first few steps, however, he knew it was going to be easier than the alternative of dragging her the entire way.

Bonnie picked up Fennekin and Serena's hat, and ran ahead. "I'll come back to stay with Ash after I drop Fennekin off!"

"Change out of your pajamas first!" Clemont yelled after her. "And keep Dedenne with you at all times!"

"I will!" Bonnie's voice was already fading into the distance. The storm only seemed to be getting worse, and she was soon hidden by the darkness. Clemont groaned, bowed his head against the rain, and continued at a much slower pace.

**…**

Taken from Dream Mood's dream dictionary:

**Difficulty in Communications - **To dream that you have difficulties communicating represents low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy.

**Grassland ** - To see or dream that you are on a grassland symbolizes openness and concealment at the same time. You need to learn to balance when to reveal information about yourself and when to hold back.

**Sun **- To dream that the sun has a creepy, harsh glare represents a significant disruption or serious problem in your life. The sun is considered a life-giver and thus, any abnormalities and peculiarities to the sun's appearance represents some sort of pain or chaos occurring in your waking life.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are loved and all questions / extensive comments will be replied to. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Ash gasped for air as violent waves repeatedly threatened to pull him under the turbulent sea. The frigid salt water stung his eyes and blurred his vision. He had no idea where he was or how he got into this situation, and the confusion only added to his disorientation.

"Pikachu! Anybody - !" Ash cried out desperately, hoping that his closest ally was nearby as he always was. Pikachu wouldn't stand a chance in water this rough but, presuming he was still on land, he could find help. Ash's head fell underneath the water again, and he quickly fought to break the surface with another panicked gasp.

Was there even an ocean near Route 14? Ash couldn't figure any of this out. He trembled against the cold water, only able to reassure himself with the knowledge that he had gotten through worse before. Pikachu would come back for him… he had to come back for him…

…but what if he didn't?

Ash drew in another hasty breath, his eyes tightly shut. _"Please!"_ He was dragged back underwater again, and struggled to breach the surface. "H-help - !"

…

"H-help… "Ash muttered from where he lay under a mountain of towels. Bonnie was knelt next to him, trying in vain to towel-dry his mussed hair. She paused as Ash again craned his neck weakly upward and struggled for breath. On top of a purple sleeping bag to his right, Serena slept in contrast to her restless friend - silent and still.

"_Chuuu…." _Pikachu whined and pushed at his trainer's arm, but Ash remained oblivious.

Bonnie paused in her work to glare across the tent to her brother. Clemont had collapsed in a muddy, dripping wet heap on the furthest side of the tent, and had spent the better part of the last ten minutes trying to catch his breath. "This is all your fault, Clemont!" Bonnie accused and pointed to Ash, who had started shivering. "You took way too long getting him back! Now he's all wet and cold and probably sick!"

Bonnie's words may be true, but Clemont ignored them. He had already been soaked and exhausted when he'd managed to lug Serena back. Bonnie had run ahead and arranged both Serena and Ash's sleeping bags inside his own tent. He had settled Serena's unconscious body on top of her pre-assigned spot, checked on Fennekin, and then hastily left to return with Ash.

The two boys were nearly equal in weight, so Clemont still couldn't fathom how he'd managed to do it. Adrenaline was the logical explanation, judging by how the exhaustion didn't truly hit until he was safely inside the tent. His hands were still numb and shaky. Still, physical activity was considered his Achilles' heel, so to know that he was still capable in an emergency situation was… empowering, to say the least.

"Pika… chu - " Ash broke off with a strangled inhalation and weakly began coughing.

Bonnie winced away. "_Told you _he was gonna get sick!" She sighed and rolled her eyes before turning her attention to Fennekin. Bonnie had wrapped both her and Serena in warm, fluffy towels, and Fennekin was starting to perk up again.

Fennekin watched Serena quietly, but her out-of-place fur was a constant distraction. She licked at her foreleg, but it seemed to be in vain. She whined and drooped her ears in defeat.

Bonnie giggled. "I'll make your fur nice and pretty again when it's dry, I promise! I'm not as good as Serena is, but…" She frowned and broke off for a few moments, then rounded on Clemont. "Don't you know what's wrong with them, Clemont?"

"I'm trying to figure it out…" Clemont glanced between Ash and Serena. They were clearly unconscious, but what was intriguing was that Pikachu had already confirmed that a haunter had been behind this. Hypnosis was an obvious first suspect, but they would have awoken from that far before this point. Even if they'd both sustained minor blows to the head they would be up by this point. They showed no signs of more serious injuries, and besides that, Ash was very clearly dreaming. A close look at Serena's closed eyes was enough proof that she was deep in REM as well…

It didn't add up, but there was a way to check. "Bonnie, check my bag and see if we have any awakenings, chesto berries, full heals… anything like that. If not, check Ash's because I'm sure that he does."

Clemont's bag was against the tent wall near Bonnie, so she simply reached and pulled it toward her. "You think they're just sleeping? Do pokemon medications even work on people?"

"Normally yes, but…" Clemont stared at his friends and sighed. "Not unless they truly are 'just sleeping'."

…

The waves pounded away, only seeming to get more aggressive as time went on. Ash had been fortunate thus far in his attempts to keep his head above the water, but if help didn't come soon...

…Maybe help _wasn't _coming.

Ash spluttered and tried desperately to look around himself. It wasn't night, but the light was dim. Ash suspected if he could spot the sky without being bowled over it would be littered with dark rain clouds.

…Rain. Rain attracted water pokemon.

It took Ash a few moments to remember where this revelation had come from. _That_ was how he ended up in this situation – he had been out training with Pikachu, when –

Terror struck him. He shouldn't be alone. He couldn't see any land; Pikachu wouldn't stand a chance in these waves –

No. No, he couldn't think like that. He had been separated from Pikachu, somehow. The haunter and poliwhirl used some sort of attack on him and Serena –

Serena.

"No…" Ash gritted his teeth and pushed back against the waves with a new vigour. He frantically tried to see over the peaks of the water. She _had _to be here with him. They had both been struck by that attack – she would be in this awful situation as well – she would keep fighting – she was probably just over the next wave -

But she wasn't. His search was only serving to make him more exhausted. He panicked.

"_No! Serena!"_

…

"_S-Ser…ena…! Ugh…!"_

"She's right next to you," Bonnie chided lightheartedly, though Ash was clearly not hearing her. His breathing picked up speed, and he tossed to his other side.

Clemont tossed his last bottle of full heal away with a sigh. "Nothing. I can't believe _nothing _worked on them…"

Bonnie looked over with a small frown. "What now?"

Clemont shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure, but Pikachu?" The little electric-type tipped his head in response. "Are you sure it was just a single haunter? Think back - there had to have been another variable."

Pikachu nodded. _"Pika, pika!"_ He bounded away from Ash to stand in front of Clemont, then raised his tiny arms into the air and curled them into fists. He flattened his ears as far as they would go, then brought his tail around to the front and curled it clockwise in front of his belly. _"Pika! Pikachu!"_

"Are you imitating a different pokemon?" Clemont asked. Pikachu nodded.

"Ooh! I know what it is!" Bonnie squealed and ran over. "See the spiral? It's a poliwag!"

"_Piiika!"_ Pikachu shook his head, then gestured to his tail.

Clemont's eyes widened. "I think you were close, Bonnie… Poliwag has a counter-clockwise spiral though, and Pikachu's tail is clockwise, see? Are you trying to say there was a poliwhirl there too, Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded and sprung back to his normal appearance. _"Pika!"_

Clemont was quiet for a few moments as he mulled over this new information. Incidentally, poliwhirl was another species that was well-known for its hypnosis attack, but he had already disproven that with the full heals…

…Unless…

"Pikachu?" Clemont began slowly, desperately hoping that he was going to be wrong. "Did the haunter and the poliwhirl battle you and Fennekin together?"

"_Pika!"_

"And did they both fire off a hypnosis attack at the same time?"

"_Pika!"_

"And both attacks hit Ash and Serena?"

"_Pika!"_

"Double status…" Clemont muttered and looked in shock at his two friends. "That's it. It has to be."

"What is it?" Bonnie asked, her face drawn into a pout. "I wanna know what's wrong with them!"

"They're asleep, but…" Clemont took a shaky breath and thought his words over carefully before speaking them. "I… I don't think I can wake them up." He averted his gaze to the walls of the tent, where the rain was splattering with intense vigor. He didn't want Bonnie to see the look of utter terror on his face. "In fact, I don't know if they can wake up at all."

…

"_Serena!"_

Ash was exhausted. His muscles ached, his eyes burned from the salt. The sea spray was getting into his lungs, causing him to cough uncontrollably. The ocean pulled him under again and again and again.

He refused to give up. Though he had no proof Serena was in the same situation, he prayed that she would have the same mindset regardless.

"…_Ash!"_

Her voice rang clearly over the ocean, which immediately calmed as if in response. Ash's heart leapt; that was Serena's voice! The grey skies overhead parted to reveal endless blue. The warmth of the sun was beginning to counteract the chill of the ocean. He could see a long stretch of sandy ground materialize in front of him.

Ash didn't question the oddity of these events, but grinned and began the easy swim to shore.

…

"They can't wake up?" Bonnie asked with wide, horrified eyes. "Not ever? W-why?"

Clemont's gaze focused on Ash, who was still struggling desperately against some unknown force. "Bonnie, do you remember what happens when Dedenne uses nuzzle?"

"_Den! Den den!" _Dedenne bounded over to Bonnie, who managed a small smile and took him into her arms.

"Um…" Bonnie said, running a hand across Dedenne's head. "Well, it paralyzes the other pokemon, right?"

Clemont nodded. "That's right. But what would happen if he used nuzzle again on the same pokemon? One that was _already_ paralyzed?"

Dedenne tipped his head as Bonnie frowned. "Nothing would happen. It might do a little damage, but…" She locked eyes with her brother. "You can't be paralyzed twice."

Clemont nodded. "That's right. Pokemon have a few notable qualities that set them apart from humans – they have types, abilities, moves, evolutionary forms… and they can only ever be afflicted with one status at a time."

Bonnie held her gaze, then looked at Ash with a puzzled expression. He was still gasping and weakly flailing about. "But… what does that mean?"

"It means that while pokemon can only be afflicted with one non-volatile status ailment at a time - "

"W-wait! What's non-volatile mean?"

Clemont blinked. "Oh, that just means it doesn't go away after a battle is over. Sleep, for instance, is non-volatile, while confusion is volatile. Anyways, people are much different…" Clemont closed his eyes. "A pokemon can't be put to sleep and then poisoned, for example, but a human _can _be. In simple terms, all pokemon have a specific form of immediate immune response that activates when afflicted with a status. It essentially prevents status ailments from being stacked." He looked over to gauge his sister's reaction. Bonnie, for once, was listening intently, so he continued. "Modern pokemon medicine treats only one status ailment at a time because in normal circumstances that's all that would be required."

Clemont could see that Bonnie was beginning to understand. She pouted, her eyes filled his concern. "But… but what about human medicine?"

"It's…" Clemont sighed. "It's more complicated than that, Bonnie. If, say, somebody was put to sleep and then poisoned, two full heals would completely cure them. But when the statuses are the same - "

"_Serena…!"_

Ash inhaled roughly and desperately craned his neck upward. Clemont could do little more than watch in sympathy. "Well… two of the same statuses over top of each other changes the nature of the status completely. As an electric-type specialist, I've always had to take great care to keep paralysis heals nearby in case of emergency, because a human who is paralyzed twice… it… it permanently damages the spinal cord, and even after years many are unable to walk…"

Bonnie gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "B-but…! They aren't paralyzed! They're just sleeping!"

"Actually, that's what I'm counting on." Clemont thoughtfully put a finger to his chin. "Sleep is the only non-volatile status ailment that wears off on its own. Well, besides freeze, but that's so rare to begin with - "

"Yeah, and?!"

"Well… I don't know," Clemont admitted, hanging his head. "I don't know much about double status aside from paralysis. It's very rare, but very serious."

Bonnie frowned down at her two friends, whom were both now sleeping quietly. Serena was lying on her back, and still hadn't moved at all from where Clemont had placed her. Ash had finally settled onto his side, facing away from Serena. "We need to get help."

Clemont shook his head. "We're too far out. I'm not leaving you here alone to look after everybody, and there's no way I'm letting you go search for help by yourself."

Bonnie smirked. "You could carry them - "

"_No."_

"Fiiine…"

"Serena was the only one who actually knew where we were going, anyways…" Clemont muttered. "When the weather gets better, I think it would be safe to send Fletchinder out to alert somebody of our location, but the winds are far too strong right now."

Bonnie crossed her arms. "So what do we do?"

Clemont pushed his glasses closer to his face and grinned. "We research."

"…Huh?"

Clemont triumphantly held up a notebook and a pencil. "There's no problem that science can't solve, but before you can invent something, you need to know what to invent!" He had already started scribbling away on the notepad, and Bonnie hit herself in the forehead with a loud sigh.

…

"Pikachu…?" Serena called out hesitantly. She had been following the little yellow mouse for what felt like an extraordinary amount of time, but they didn't seem to actually be going anywhere. The bright green scenery remained completely unchanged, though the entire landscape was devoid of any notable landmarks. "Where are we going?"

Pikachu kept walking. Serena paused, then decided to try again.

"Pikachu? Pikachu, where's Ash?"

Pikachu's head swiveled around and his mouth curled upward into a devilish, creepy grin. Two tiny fangs protruded from his mouth. He turned his whole body around to face Serena, who felt her heartbeat quicken as she backed up a few paces.

"_Ash, huh?" _Pikachu asked in his high-pitched, squeaky voice. He sneered as she gasped and backed further away. _"That's all you care about, isn't it?"_

"…You… you can…?" Serena jumped as the blue sky suddenly switched to black and the eerie sun disappeared from overhead. All that stretched in front of her now was blackness. "Pikachu?"

"_Are you scared, Serena?" _Pikachu's voice was coming from behind her now. She whirled around, but couldn't see him. _"I only want to help you."_

"H-help me…?" Serena couldn't manage to raise her voice much higher than a whisper.

"_Help you see how truly pathetic you are."_

A bolt of lightning struck down directly in front of her. The resulting piercing light and thunder simultaneously blinded and deafened her. She could no longer tell where she was. The only thing she was aware of was utter terror.

She screamed.

…

**Ocean - **To see an ocean in your dream represents the state of your emotions and feelings… If the ocean is rough, then the dream represents some emotional turmoil.

**Drowning ** - To dream that you are drowning indicates that you are feeling overwhelmed by emotions. Repressed issues may be coming back to haunt you. You may be proceeding too quickly in trying to discover your subconscious thoughts.

**Black - **Black symbolizes the unknown, the subconscious, danger, mystery, darkness, death, mourning, rejection, hate or malice. The color invites you to delve deeper in your subconscious in order to gain a better understanding of yourself. It also signifies a lack of love and lack of support.

**Lightning** - To see lightning in your dream signifies sudden awareness, insight, spiritual revelation, truth and purification.

I will be trying to keep updates consistent to every Thursday, though I can't make guarantees (especially for next week, considering that's Christmas and all). If I don't update on one particular Thursday, I'm just going to skip the week entirely and update the next Thursday. So updates will only happen on Thursdays, with the goal of every Thursday except maybe next week (we'll see).

Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

"_Stop it, Pikachu! S-stay away…! HELP… PLEASE HELP ME…!" _Serena broke into loud wracking sobs that Clemont and Bonnie had become accustomed to over the last several minutes. Clemont scribbled furiously into his notepad, too absorbed in his research to pay attention to anything else. The sound of Clemont's pen mixed with the pounding rain and Serena's desperate cries created a hectic atmosphere. Pikachu was beside a still-quiet Ash, but his ears twitched with every name drop that Serena made. Judging by her word choices, her reason for calling out Pikachu's name wasn't a positive one. Fennekin was next to Serena – the only one brave enough to face her flailing body.

Ash, meanwhile, was lying perfectly still; it was as if the two had completely switched roles.

Bonnie watched quietly from the edge of the tent as Serena whimpered in her sleep and tossed from side to side in distress. Ever since they met, Bonnie had taken to viewing Serena as a big sister. It was disconcerting for the youngest member of the group to see Serena in pain. "I wish I could tell her it wasn't real…" Bonnie frowned. "Clemont, do you know how to wake them up yet?"

Clemont shook his head. "I'm getting there. I have some theories."

"Like what?"

Clemont finally paused in his writing to flip back a few pages. He cleared his throat. "Well, first of all, I believe it is safe to say that they are both dreaming."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "That's all you've figured out?"

"No," Clemont said, pausing to shoot his little sister a look before continuing. "This is crucial – dreaming only happens during REM sleep," Clemont flipped several pages of his notebook as he talked. "I would have thought a double sleep status would have landed both of them into a deeper stage, but that's beside my point."

Bonnie tipped her head. "…And what's your point?"

"REM sleep can create vivid dreams, so typically the body temporarily paralyzes itself during sleep to prevent, well…" He gestured to Serena as she thrashed suddenly to her left, causing Fennekin to jump out of the way with a squeak of surprise. "…to prevent injury." Clemont rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Ash hasn't moved in a while!" Bonnie pointed out.

Clemont sighed. "I know. The only thing I can figure is that he's at a deeper stage of REM than Serena is at the moment. But… why? And when you think back, Ash was originally acting very similar to how Serena - "

He was cut off by an ear-piercing shriek from Serena. Both Clemont and Bonnie winced and hastily looked over, but Serena was still asleep – albeit was now curled into a ball with her arms protectively covering her face.

Bonnie frowned and looked down. "She looks so scared, Clemont…"

"As I was saying, Ash was the same way…" Clemont hesitated and his eyes slowly widened.

Bonnie watched her brother skeptically. "Uh… Clemont?"

Clemont's glasses gleamed white, and he pushed them closer to his face with a smirk. "I think I understand… but to prove my theory, I'll need the help of…"

Bonnie gave an exasperated sigh. "Here it comes…"

"_SCIENCE!"_

…

"Pikachu?" Serena whimpered as her eyes tried and failed to adjust to the sudden darkness. She stayed as still as possible and listened intently, but couldn't hear anything aside from her own shaky breaths. She mustered up her courage, and took a single step forward –

Pikachu's head popped up directly in front of her, and she stumbled backward with a small cry of alarm. She fell and stared from the ground in terror at the face in front of her. _"What's the matter, Serena?" _Pikachu's high-pitched voice asked. His head floated in mid-air, and his body wasn't visible. Serena trembled and opened her mouth, but couldn't get any words out. Pikachu laughed, and his heads multiplied. The endless blackness was soon filled with cackling Pikachu heads.

"Stop it, Pikachu!" Serena begged. "S-stay away…!" One of the heads dove close, and Serena shrieked and hid her head in her arms. _"HELP! PLEASE HELP ME!" _

"_Why would you be afraid of me?" _The Pikachu heads asked in unison. Serena tearfully looked up, and struggled to focus on all of them at once. _"I'm Ash's pokemon, aren't I?"_

"Ash…" Serena muttered with wide eyes. If only Ash were here right now…

"_You think Ash would help you?" _The Pikachu heads started to circle around. _"Why would Ash care about a pathetic girl like you?"_

Serena could feel tears starting to trail down her face. She opened her mouth to respond, but her words caught in her throat.

"_I know how you feel about him." _The Pikachu heads made one last circle before recombining into a singular head. It stared maliciously at Serena with tiny fangs bared. _"I know alllllll about your little crush, silly girl," _he mocked, ending with a brief laugh.

Serena froze. "Y-you… what?"

"_Don't act so surprised," _Pikachu's head grinned and floated closer. Serena scrambled backwards. _"Even that cute little girl you travel with has probably noticed. Her brother, too. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if even _Ash _knows by now!"_

"N-no!" Serena squeaked. Her heart was pounding, and she could feel heat rising in her cheeks. "That's… that's not - !"

"_I've known Ash for far longer than you, stupid girl," _Pikachu taunted with a devilish grin. _"What gives _you _the right to butt into his life? Ash doesn't need a girl who can't even train her own pokemon properly. What _can _you do right, Serena?!" _He broke off with a terribly loud cackle, and Serena doubled over with her hands clamped over her ears.

"Stop it! Please stop!" Serena cried. "I-I-I…"

"_HE'LL NEVER LOVE YOU BACK!"_

The final line echoed across the chamber over and over. Serena had her eyes tightly shut and her arms covering them for good measure.

"Stop!" Serena repeated, her heart pounding in utter panic. _"GET AWAY FROM ME!"_

…

Bonnie scampered away from Serena in alarm, then pouted at Clemont. "She told me to go away…"

Clemont was trying his best to ignore Serena's screams, and was focusing his attention on the pile of scrap metal in front of him. "She's not talking to you, Bonnie. I promise."

"Who's she talking to?"

Clemont sighed and placed his wrench down. "I don't know," he said, turning to face Bonnie. "But this invention is going to help us find out… I hope."

Bonnie tipped her head at the machine. Metal bars overlapped to create a vaguely half-dome shape. Judging by its size, it was meant to be worn on the head. Wires connected it to a separate metal box with ten lights that blinked periodically. "It's a hat?" Bonnie guessed, then her expression turned to horror. "Wait, what if it explodes on their heads?!"

"It won't," Clemont said proudly. "This one's different. Really!"

Bonnie watched her brother skeptically. "Well… what does it do then, if it doesn't explode?"

Clemont glared briefly at Bonnie before returning his full attention to his new device. "I call this the Emotion-Detector-During-Sleep-Device!"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Real creative, bro."

Clemont grinned and continued on. "I have a theory. It seems that a high level of emotion – seemingly fear or discomfort – is causing them to come out of their deeper levels of sleep. If I strap my invention to their head, like so…" He placed the device on Ash's head first, as he was the easier of the two to deal with at the moment. Pikachu tipped his head at the metal dome, but made no objections. "Now… power on!"

Clemont flicked a switch on the separate metal box, and a gauge on the front lit up two bars out of ten. "See? When Ash wears it, it says his emotional scale is only two out of ten. That's why he's being so still." Clemont glanced at Serena, who was sobbing hysterically. "As for Serena…"

"Be careful!" Bonnie warned as Clemont disconnected Ash from the device and cautiously approached Serena. Fennekin leapt to the side and watched anxiously as Clemont gently attached the metal dome to Serena's head.

Serena tossed violently to the right and whimpered, but the device stayed attached. Clemont brightened at his success. "Alright… time to test my theory!"

Clemont flicked the switch on the metal box, and this time six bars out of ten lit up. Clemont tapped his chin, a puzzled expression on his face. "Only six out of ten? …Is she exaggerating her emotions? How could she possibly be any more emotional?! She's been crying for the last twenty minutes!"

Bonnie crossed her arms and sighed. "I've never seen her so upset before! I think your device is faulty."

Clemont scowled at her. "That's impossible." He hastily checked the machine to be sure.

Serena flipped back to her other side and groaned. "Please…" Her cheeks were tear-stained, but Clemont noticed she had actually stopped crying.

"Hmm…" Clemont looked back at the device, which still read a six. "Maybe I was too late putting the Emotion-Detector-During-Sleep-Device on - "

"A-Ash…" Serena muttered, curling herself into a tighter ball. The machine beeped once, and Clemont looked over. To his surprise, the machine was now reading a seven out of ten.

"A seven…" Clemont muttered, raising an eyebrow at Serena. "But she seems calmer?"

"Ash…" Serena said again, her eyes still shut. "I… I forgive you… I know you would never hurt me."

_Beep! _Clemont looked over in bewilderment as the machine lit up another bar for a grand total of eight out of ten. "An eight?" Clemont furrowed his brow and reached for Serena's shoulder. "Serena! Serena, wake up!"

"Wake up, Serena!" Bonnie added, hurrying closer. "Please wake up! I miss you!"

"_Fennekin!" _Fennekin cried in agreement.

"_Pika pika!" _Pikachu bounded over as well, his eyes wide. _"Pikachu!"_

"An eight is pretty high... she should be able to wake up!" Clemont continued shaking Serena's arm. "Serena! Serena, can you hear me?"

"Ugh…" Serena groaned lightly, her eyes still shut. "Clemont…?"

Clemont and the others lit up. "Serena?!" Clemont called hopefully. "You're in a deep sleep; you have to try to wake up!"

"I… I don't….?" Serena's voice was weak and faint.

_Beeeep!_

Clemont looked in alarm at the machine's box, which was beginning to lose lights. "No!" he called in dismay as the bar settled on a three out of ten. Serena lay still once again, only her chest moving with her slow and steady breathing. Clemont groaned. "She was so close! She could hear me speaking to her!"

Bonnie frowned and patted Fennekin, who was looking utterly dismayed. "Guess this was another failed invention, huh bro?"

Clemont didn't respond, but did remove the device from Serena's head. He placed it aside and came back. He looked between Ash and Serena thoughtfully. "…Hmm…"

"What is it?" Bonnie asked.

Clemont jumped a bit, as if forgetting his sister was in the room. "I-I… I was just thinking…" He adjusted his glasses nervously. "I think I was on the right track, but…"

"…But…?"

Clemont hesitated, then went to grab his notebook and started flipping through it again. "I was thinking that all emotions would resonate on the same level, but I'm pretty sure I was wrong." He started scribbling in the notepad. "Extreme fear causes six out of ten…" he muttered to himself.

"Wasn't it an eight out of ten at the end, though?" Bonnie asked innocently.

Clemont cleared his throat nervously. "Y-yes, but…" He looked back at Serena, who was still sleeping quietly. He had never really thought about it before, but Serena's words _had_ been directed at forgiving Ash, and that had caused her emotional scale to increase. Serena did seem to make a point of worrying about Ash, or walking next to Ash, or asking Ash how he felt about a new outfit of hers…

…On the other hand, Ash _did _tend to rush headlong into things without thinking, and Clemont usually walked next to Bonnie to be sure she didn't see a vivillon or something and get herself separated from the group so _of course_ Serena and Ash would be left together, and heck if Serena was going to ask somebody in an electrician's jumpsuit for fashion advice.

Bonnie tipped her head. Clemont knew that she could sense his hesitation and was going to latch onto it – it was a terrible habit of hers. "Buuut what?" Bonnie asked.

Clemont sighed and resumed taking notes. "It's not important." It was a white lie for the sake of Ash and Serena – Arceus forbid Bonnie start proposing on their behalves, too. He warily stole a glance at Bonnie – she was pouting with her brow furrowed. That wasn't a good sign.

"Clemoooont," Bonnie whined, crossing her arms. "I'm not a little kid anymore! Tell me!"

Clemont shook his head. "I can't rush to conclusions. Not in a situation that concerns the lives of our friends." …He needed more research on whether Serena had a crush on Ash, then? Was he seriously going to look into this? Well, he couldn't argue with the evidence, and if it was truly the key to getting them to wake up…

Bonnie frowned, and for a moment Clemont feared she was going to argue more, but to his relief she turned her attention back to stroking Fennekin. "Okay, I guess you're right."

Clemont sighed lightly in relief, then raised his notebook once again. "Alright, for the sake of science and the lives of my friends… here goes nothing."

…

The darkness had flickered strangely before settling into a dull glow that faintly lit up the world around Serena. Pikachu vanished suddenly and mysteriously. Serena looked cautiously around, praying that this strange torture would be over.

"_Serena! Serena, can you hear me?"_

Another voice with no body echoed around the area – although, judging by the green tint to the ground, she now seemed to be outside. She recognized the voice. "Clemont?" she called, looking around the area in bewilderment.

"_Serena?! You're in a deep sleep; you have to try to wake up!"_

A deep sleep? Serena was puzzled by his words. She wasn't asleep, after all. "I… I don't understand what you mean!" she called back, still looking frantically around for him. As she focused her attention away from his voice, the area around her started glowing a brighter shade of green. The sun – still strangely large in the sky – hung ominously above her. It didn't appear to have changed any. Serena looked around herself and once again saw nothing but green grass and blue sky.

She sunk to the ground with a groan of despair. "I just wanna go back…" she sniffed and buried her head in her hands. "I don't want to be alone here anymore…" Where had Clemont's voice come from? And, more importantly, she still had no idea where Ash was and was starting to fear the worst. He had definitely been with her when they were battling before, until those strange rings had come flying at them…

Serena paused. She hadn't remembered that until just now. Ash had said that was a hypnosis attack – Serena knew that it put pokemon that it hit to sleep. So, if they had both been hit by hypnosis…

In an instant, Clemont's words about her being in a deep sleep made sense. Was this some kind of vivid dream? It was more like a nightmare. "Shouldn't I wake up if I know I'm asleep?" Serena asked the sky, as if hoping by vocalizing her theory that it would magically come true. The sky stayed as blue as ever, and the only moving from her spot that Serena accomplished was to flop onto her back with an exasperated sigh. Clemont had told her to try to wake up, but how was she supposed to go about doing that?

"Ash…" Serena stared upward and sighed. "I… I just hope you're okay…"

…

**Crying** - To dream that you are crying signifies a release of negative emotions that is more likely caused by some waking situation rather than the events of the dream itself. Your dream is a way to regain some emotional balance and to safely let out your fears and frustrations. In your daily lives, you tend to ignore, deny, or repress your feelings. But in your dream state, your defense mechanisms are no longer on guard and thus allow for the release of those feelings that you have repressed during the day.

**Head **- To see a head in your dream signifies wisdom, intellect, understanding and rationality.

**Mice** - To see mice in your dream indicates that you are spending too much time dwelling on minor problems and insignificant matters.

**Yelling ** - To dream that you or someone is yelling represents repressed anger that needs to be expressed. If you are yelling and no one hears, then it suggests that you are being overlooked in some waking situation. You feel that your voice does not matter or that your opinion does not count.

In particular, hearing demonic yelling in your dream means there is something you thought you have left in the past that is still haunting you.


End file.
